WILD TURKEY
Rock / Blues / Classic Rock
"ALL ABOUT TURKEY"
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WILD TURKEY: General Info
Member Since 1/21/2006 Band Website wildturkey.mu (under construction ) Band Members GARY PICKFORD-HOPKINS... VOCALS, GUITAR, HARMONICA......
GLENN CORNICK ... BASS......
MICK DYCHE... GUITAR.....
BRENDAN McGRATH... GUITAR, VOCALS.....
STEVE GURL... PIANO,SYNTH'S.....
CLIVE BUNKER.... DRUMS......
JOHN ( PUGWASH ) WEATHERS... PERCUSSION...... Record Label WILD TURKEY MUSIC Type of Label Indie
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Formed in early 71, Wild Turkey was the brainchild of Glenn Cornick, founder bassist with the highly successful Progressive-Rock quartet Jethro Tull. Following his departure from Tull in late 1970, Glenn set about forming his own band and began writing new material.
He had already appeared on three critically acclaimed Tull albums, This Was (1968),
Stand Up (1969) and Benefit (1970) giving him considerable experience in the recording studios which would prove to be invaluable for the new project.
With Ian Anderson having assumed control of song-writing duties in Tull, Glenn was now free to exploit his own ideas and creative talents to the full thus introducing a fresh and unique approach that would shape Turkey's musical style in the process.
One of the first musicians Glenn enlisted the services of was former Eyes Of Blue vocalist Gary Pickford-Hopkins, a highly rated and versatile singer that would prove to be the perfect choice for the band. Gary's voice and phrasing was highly distinctive and his fitting style would help bring out the best in the new songs, not only that but Gary also played acoustic guitar and harmonica.
Two guitarists were pencilled in, the first being Graham Williams who, even by that early stage, was considered to be one of the most accomplished players around especially in his native Wales. The second guitarist was Jon Blackmore, a Londoner, who Glenn had known for some time and whose musical background was steeped largely in folk music. Jon was to contribute acoustic and rhythm guitar to the band's early sound utilising his natural 'plucking' technique. Jon also provided occasional lead and backing vocals.
The line-up was completed with masterful drummer John 'Pugwash' Weathers's inclusion and it was this first incarnation of Wild Turkey that took to a remote farmhouse in the Welsh hills to rehearse.
However, within a short space of time both Williams and Weathers left the band to join forces with Graham Bond, an offer neither felt able to resist. Turkey now urgently needed a replacement lead guitarist and somebody to fill the vacant drum stool too. Williams replacement turned out to be a young and exciting guitarist called Alan 'weke' Lewis who was lured away from a local outfit. Meanwhile, the drum position was filled by the capable Jeff Jones.
The re-vamped line-up rehearsed and soon went out on the road embarking on a relentless schedule of gigs the length and breadth of the country becoming one of the hardest working British acts.
By late Summer of that year Turkey were booked into Olympic Studios with producer Rodger Bain to record their debut album, Battle Hymn. The LP was released in Britain in November and received some favourable reviews from the music press. The disc was housed in one of the most striking covers ever to grace a British rock album.
The band took to the road again to promote Battle Hymn and some of the new songs like Butterfly (written as a tribute to Jimi Hendrix), One Sole Survivor and Twelve Streets Of Cobbled Black would soon emerge as crowd favourites, remaining in the groups live set for years to come.
Turkey then swiftly embarked on the first of several US tours, supporting Black Sabbath. The tour was a huge success with arenas sold out right across the States, Battle Hymn even entered the lower reaches of the Billboard Chart. As a result of all this further tours were lined up across the Atlantic playing alongside Yes, Ten Years After, Procol Harum, Jethro Tull and ZZ Top.
Upon their return to England in Feb 1972 Turkey played further high profile gigs with Sabbath including Londons Royal Albert Hall. Shortly afterwards Jon Blackmore quit the band and was replaced by a talented young player called Mick Dyche. Further touring in England and Europe ensued before the band were once again back in the studio to capitalise on the success of Battle Hymn.
This time Londons Morgan Studios was chosen for the follow-up and Glenn decided to produce the LP himself with experienced hand Robin Black taking care of engineering duties. The second album entitled simply Turkey was released in September and found the band in a somewhat more confident groove, rather than feeling their way so to speak as bands usually do on their debut recordings. This bolder offering showcased some outstanding songs including Good Old Days (also issued as a single, and backed by an earlier, quite marvellous yet little-known number entitled Life Is A Symphony), Eternal Mother/The Return and Universal Man. Gary wrote a poignant ballad Tomorrow's Friend which was another highlight.
Turkey differed in another significant way from Battle Hymn in as much as it included some elegant electric piano passages on certain songs enriching the sound in the process. These duties were taken care of by Steve Gurl, the bands roadie, who was promptly invited to become a member of Wild Turkey.
The band took to the road again to promote the new LP and the addition of new axeman Mick Dyche to the fold brought about some powerful dual guitar interplay between him and Tweke Lewis. This twin guitar sound fast became a prominent part of Turkeys on- stage repertoire, pushing the songs to the very edge as the pair lashed solo against solo soaring ever upwards into a glorious fret board dogfight.
This line-up which many fans consider to be the classic line-up remained intact until the Spring of 1973 when Lewis upped and left, joining near neighbours Man.
For a short period Turkey continued live work using Dyche only on lead guitar which put a lot of extra responsibility on his shoulders. Although he coped remarkably well, the band were eager to re-instate their dual guitar sound once more, so started looking around for a replacement for Lewis. Before long a permanent addition was made. Bernie Marsden out of sorts with UFO was offered the position, and duly accepted
Wild Turkey was once again a six-piece band and they confidently took to the road making plans along the way to write some new songs that would include contributions from Bernie in a composing capacity.
The usual slog of constant gigging was resumed and an updated stage show was introduced that featured exciting new material played alongside established favourites. In hindsight it can confidently be said that these new songs were amongst the strongest compositions ever to be written by Turkey. Marsden had given the group a new lease of life and this was handsomely illustrated in the quality of songs such as Social World, Brother, Sweet Talkin Woman (later changed to Streetwalker and Soldier Boy which was often used to open the new stage show.
By this time Wild Turkey were a name band with two mighty fine albums under their belt, battle-hardened by two years or more of unrelenting giging and touring all over the world plus they were well known for their high standard of musicianship. They had often been invited to record concerts, (usually at the Hippodrome), and other sessions, for the BBC, for the likes of such notables as Mike Harding, John Peel and Bob Harris, and on October 12th 1973, they once again delivered another superb session that showcased the four new songs mentioned above. These songs were preserved by the Beeb, as were most of Turkeys other sessions, but this time they were pressed onto a special Transcription disc, making it a rare collectors item today.
1973 should have seen a third Wild Turkey LP but it never materialised. To make matters worse long time sticksman Jeff Jones decided to leave the band. He was quickly replaced by ex Supertramp drummer Kevin Currie who was a fine percussionist.
With no album release in 1973 the band were eager to lay down some demos, so in early 74 they entered The Farmyard in Little Chalfont to record five songs in a studio run by Vinegar Joe guitarist Pete Gage, who kindly offered to produce them. He also got Turkey to record a song he had written called Rich Mans Woman which went on to do good things for Elkie Brooks but wasn't really cut out for the Turks. Gage even wanted to change the bands name to PSI but that idea was rejected outright by Glenn and co!
These five songs, which included four new ones co-written with Bernie never got to see the light of day.
During this part of 1974 Pickford-Hopkins's vocal attributes had not gone unnoticed and he received an invitation from former Yes keyboards wizard Rick Wakeman to sing on his Journey To The Centre Of The Earth concept album. This project was a massive commercial success and put Gary firmly in the spotlight. The LP rose to number one in the British Charts and has since gone Platinum. It was also Grammy and Ivor Novello awarded as was its follow-up The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table which also featured Garys exquisite vocals.
As 1974 progressed and the Summer approached, Gary was offered a full time position in Ricks band. This effectively sounded the death knell for Wild Turkey but things were altering a lot that year in the music business anyway as a wind of change began to blow in resulting in many of their contemporaries folding.
With the punk scene only 18 months away established acts like Stone The Crows, Vinegar Joe, Hookfoot, Pink Fairies, Warhorse, Glencoe, Skin Alley, Tir Na Nog and Silverhead (to name but a few) were all calling it a day. And so it was for Wild Turkey too. With the decision taken to knock it on the head a special farewell show was arranged back at Londons famous Marquee Club where it had all started three years prior. The Marquee was a special venue and indeed the band had once held a residency there.
Wild Turkey would not play together again for 18 years! Gary went on to great success with Rick Wakeman and later became involved in other projects including The Network Band and Tetsus Good Times Roll Band with whom a live LP was recorded and released in Japan. This is a rare collectors item today.
Glenn Cornick headed for Germany where he joined a group called Karthago and then after that he became a member of the band Paris. As Glenn said recently "It was definitely time for something different"
Of the other members, Mick Dyche joined an outfit calling themselves Snips, Steve Gurl and Bernie Marsden ended up in Babe Ruth, the latter going on to Whitesnake fame of course, and original guitarist Graham Williams achieved mild success with the band Racing Cars.
Fast forward to 1996 and HTD Records who, out of the blue, invited Turkey to reform and cut a new platter. After initial hesitation and miscommunications across the Atlantic between Gary and Glenn, the band decided to reunite with guitarist Tweke Lewis and new drummer Brian Thomas to record a superb comeback album in the shape of Stealer Of Years. Fourteen new songs were recorded at Digitaff Studios in Wales with some of the highlights including Gunslinger, St Catherine's Bells, Battlefield and the title track.
The band played a handful of gigs in England and Germany to promote the album but a major setback occurred when Glenn suffered a heart attack. Thankfully Glenn was soon able to resume playing again but couldn't make the Gravesend gig in Nov 1996 which was part of a special Jethro Tull Convention night. However he did make the German leg in March the following year, at Betzdorf/Sieg Stadhalle and it was a most triumphant return for Glenn, with the band going down a storm.
Following these appearances the members of Wild Turkey once again went their separate ways. Gary teamed up with long time friend Ray 'Taff' Williams forming a popular duo under various names and proceeded to perform mainly throughout Wales with occasional gigs in London and Malta, where the pair are in constant demand.
Glenn returned to his base in Southern California and became involved in the Irish Folk Music Scene of which he actively participates to this day.
Shortly after this Gary was offered a new deal by Angel Air Records to record a solo album and in 2003 the magnificent GPH appeared accompanied by some superb reviews. The material straddled rock, blues, jazz and much more, and included Garys close friend Bonnie Tyler on one track. Taff contributed some great guitar and Garys vocals shone through like a beacon. Included as a bonus were two versions of a special tribute song that Gary had recorded in the late 70s called Why. The song was written by the late Roger Evans, with narration by the late Conrad Atkins, as a tribute to the late Peter Ham and Tommy Evans of Badfinger.
2006 marks the tenth anniversary of Stealer Of Years and leading Wild Turkey members have decided to reform and commemorate this by recording a band new studio album.
Fans can even get to be part of this new project themselves and receive special invitations to meet band members. But first some up to date info about the project itself.
The new album will be recorded in April in Swansea. Musicians included as the backbone of the group include: Glenn Cornick (bass, founder member), Gary Pickford-Hopkins (vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, founder member), Graham Williams (lead guitar, founder member) and Brian Thomas (drummer on Stealer Of Years.
In addition to this there will be cameo roles for other former members of the band and some exciting special guest appearances. Musicians in this section include Mick Dyche, Tweke Lewis, Benie Marsden, John 'Pugwash' Weathers, Terry Williams, Clive Bunker, Jeff Jones and Steve Gurrl.
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